Sothia Update...a bit of frogging

A Year Without a Sothia Pattern?

I remember watching The Year Without A Santa Claus and wonder which character would make the perfect Halloween costume. I must have been very good because I "found" my copy of Robin Ulrich's Sothia shawl pattern. (rav link) Which yarn colors should I use?

My test knit of the Katriel.

Daybreak

I started a Daybreak last night using yarn from TheUniqueSheep.com Ram Club. Yarn base is Verve in color ways Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice.

Lavender Shawl Completed!

All done.



I learned a few things knitting this shawl.

Here is a picture of the completed shawl.

And a picture of the center stitch.

Backstage Lavender Shawl Update

I'm backstage before the first performance Saturday with an update on the lavender shawl. I made a mistake by not keeping the center back stitch plain. I involved it in the YO, k2tog lace pattern. 

Here's a close-up of the error. I'm trying to fix this while I have time duringyoday's performances. I'm not sure it will work but I'm going to try.


Update:
I tried and I didn't work. It looks like extra stitches will be added. I'm going to pull out the fishnet lace pattern and start this section over with a bit more attention on what the lace should be doing.

Lavender Shawl

A friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer and I'm knitting her a shawl.
It's based on the Boneyard Shawl (rav link) by Stephen West but I'll be adding a fishnet lace as one of the last sections.

She wanted lavender. Here are the color options I gave her:


She has very good taste and selected #3 (going from the left). It's cashmere.

This is the first cast-on attempt. I was not happy so I pulled it out.


Here's the progress by Sunday's second show at the theatre.  I made good progress.


I don't think I'll get it finished by Friday. I don't want to shorten the shawl simply because I'm out of time. I know I'll have it finished by Monday.

Rainbow Katriel

I was privileged to test knit Robin Ulrich's newest pattern, The Katriel Shawl.  Find details of the pattern here on Robin's Blog.
My finished shawl looks like this:

I think it turned out beautifully.
Here are a few other photos.



Yarmando is modeling the Katriel while we were at Wool Gathering today.

Details:
I used 64 grams of Schoppel Wolle Zauberball no: 1153 1564 bedr lot: 319684 (less than one ball).
I used 74 grams of Baby Ull superwash farge 810 lot 25528 (1 full ball and most of the second).
My gauge was looser than desired pattern stitch gauge. My gauge was 20 sts X 10 cm on size 6 circular needles (before blocking). 5 sts/in. I am pleased with the resulting fabric

This was a very pleasant knit and only took about 24-32 hours to knit. I really liked the long color repeat of the Zauberball with the solid navy. I think the effect is quite beautiful.


Now, if I knew who should receive the shawl or perhaps I'll just wear it myself.

Wildflowers Shawl Completed!

Back in August I blogged about a shawl I knit for a silent auction.
I'm happy to say I completed the shawl in time for delivery.


I made up the pattern. I used a size 15 mm circular needle
CO 3,
K1, KFB, K1
*SL 1 wyif, K1, KFB, K the remaining sts.
Repeat from *
After it got to be about the correct size, I picked up the slipped sts on the edge and made a simple YO, K2tog border.
Don't try to follow the pattern. I was making it up as I went along.

BTW: I hated knitting with this yarn. This yarn was made up of three separate yarns, each having its own stretch so knitting stretched out each ply. One yarn was mohair, one cotton and one rayon (chenille, no less). The rayon was the worst offender for stretching.  It was so bad that I put the hank on the swift and knit right from it. I had to cut the yarn twice and tied knots just so get rid of the extra yarn. Bleck. yarn hate. It's really disappointing for me to not like knitting with a special yarn. I bought the yarn on my first trip to San Francisco. I was a newish knitter.

and a little silliness ensued while we snapped a few photos.

Gift for MamaChris

I knit a shawl for MamaChris. She is the wonderful lady that I met while working at my LYS. She was the person who asked me why I wasn't in a relationship several years back. I mentioned it in this blog post.

I saw MamaChris today at Knitters Connections. She loves the shawl and it arrived at the perfect time. She needed the lift. It came in the form of a knitted shawl. Multnomah
by Kate Flagg

Thinking about classes

I've been thinking about classes that might be interesting to teach at my LYS. The trouble for me right now is that I don't have a lot of time to create a new curriculum. Thoughts?



Jeremy suggested his Shadow Knit Greek Key Scarf.   It's a nice scarf and would be a nice one day class.  He's given permission to use the pattern. 

The Leaf Lace Shawl and Swallowtail Shawl are high on the list. Of course, I have to review the copyright for these patterns. I really want to find a pattern that I could get the students to purchase and have good options for yarns.  I'm trying to use up my sock stash yarn.  I also don't want a class to go on for too long. 

I've been really enjoying listening to Hoxton Handmade Podcast. Have you heard it? I'm enjoying the essays and humor of the magazine reviews.  I'll vlog about my love affair on this a bit later. 

Wave for Joy Shawl

My family celebrates Christmas & Thanksgiving together on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. "Thanksmas" is when the family gets together to eat, drink and be merry and to exchange holiday gifts. Since I've been knitting, I've tried to knit my gift for my sibling. This is my sister-in-law Joy who was glad to receive the Joy Wave Shawl. We talk about the gift in this vlog.



I really like it when someone appreciates the hand knitted item. This is a picture of her opening the shawl.


She really likes the shawl. She wore it all day. Here are two pictures of her enjoying Thanksmas while wearing the shawl. It makes me feel great to see someone so enthusiastic about their gift.


I discovered a broken stitch right after the filming of the video.
I used a duplicate stitch with some leftover yarn to resolve the issue. I made certain to catch the new yarn several times on each side of the broken stitch so the shawl wouldn't unravel.

The pattern and detail photos

This is based on the Feather and Fan Stitch or Old Shale taken from the Barbara Walker Second Treasury.
Cast on 88 sts in color 1, K 8 rows for the set up (4 garter ridges).
Color 1
Row 1 (right side): Knit
Row 2: Knit
Switch to Color 2
Row 3: K 8 sts*(K2tog) 4 times, (YO, K1) 8 times, (K2tog) 4 times: repeat from * to last 8 sts, K
Row 4: K 8 sts, Purl to last 8 sts, K8
Repeat these 4 rows, moving up the other color until there is enough yarn for for 8 k rows (4 garter ridges) using color of your choice. BO loosely.
Block

I used a size 9 needle.
I wanted a garter st boarder so I always knit the first and last 8 sts.
This shawl took 330 yards of Classic Alpaca in Color 1603 (Cowboy Blue)
and approximately 330 yards of Noro Tidiori in Color 1

I just realized that I didn't take final measurements after I blocked the shawl. Joy, If you read this, can you please put a comment and let me know the final dimensions?

Colonnade Shawl Progress 1

The new fall knitty is out.
It has the Colonnade Shawl pattern by Stephen West (aka westknits)
The pattern is a perfect fit for a gift for my favorite barista at work. We chatted about a knitted item for her last fall. I did buy the yarn but a gift never got made.

I cast on for the shawl on Saturday night. I made great progress on it while knitSB and I enjoyed Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. I'm using larger needles than called for in the pattern, size 13's and I'm pleased with how the knitting is going. The picture shows the progress as of Sunday morning.

My Ravelry project details can be found here.
I really like the colors together. I didn't have enough of the Shepherds Shades to complete the st st part of the pattern, so I just moved into using the Lamb's Pride Worsted. I'm holding Kidsilk Haze as I knit the shawl. I wanted to add a bit of "glow," warmth and softness to the shawl. I'm pleased how the color I used gives an overall tone to the shawl. There have been a few times when I've needed to drop down and pick up the Kidsilk Haze because I didn't complete the stitch with both yarns. It's been easy to complete on the st st.

We were watching another Hetty episode when I lost count of where I was on the pattern repeat. That will teach me not to put a sticky note somewhere on my working pattern. I missed an increase on one side of the center. I wasn't able to drop down and make the necessary corrections, so I frogged the work back to before the lace edging started. I never thought I would need a lifeline but I guess I did. The picture doesn't correctly show my progress after the frogging. I don't have any lace pattern now.

I should be able to get more of the knitting completed this week. I'll post some progress photos as I take them (or remember to take them.)

p.s. if you know my barista, don't let her know. :)

4 hats and a Shawl

I've been busy knitting hats out of the Berroco Vintage Wool. I finished two other hats in the last few days. One additional hat is a going away gift for Bill S who leaves for his Masters work in theater. I promised to knit him a hat as a going away gift. I also knit a baby hat for Baby McC. The expectant mom reads the blog, so I'll post pictures after she receives the gift.

My brother has been working on his TV room and recently added a HD Epson projector that is a 5' X 10' screen. I've been trying to knit while watching some videos in his new space. Let me tell you, the great screen distracts me from my knitting.



The Fleece Artist Thrum Mitten kit details are here. LittleWit on plurk gave me the suggestion to make all the thrums first. I've done this and hope it will make it easy to knit.

My vacation with my brothers has been great. We've got this down to a science. We can each do what we want to do without worrying about the others. The typical teasing and arguing got heated up on Saturday morning to no harm to anyone. I like my brothers. How often can people say that about family?

The video that's paused is Erasure "Sometimes." I couldn't find this version on YouTube. I remember dancing to this song out at the bars when I was in college. A great song and great memories. I think I dance like Andy Bell. LOL

Day Two of being sick

I've not been feeling well the last two days. I called in sick on Monday and left work early on tuesday. It started with stomach problems on Sunday and kicked in on Sunday night with the sniffles and the sick day high blood sugars. Today was the second full day of that adventure. I am not a good sick patient. In fact, leaving me alone to sleep is probably your best option. Just ask knitSB. I didn't go to my weekly KIP (knitting in public) tonight.

Our 17 year old cat Hunter died over night. She was a lovely cat and a great mouser. You probably knew that by her name, didn't you.

The shawl was well-received by my boss today. The colors are perfect for her. The special gloves were delivered and need a little snugging up in the cuff. I'm thinking some elastic should do the trick, don't you?

I was able to knit two repeats on #1's Medusa hat. That means I only have one more repeat before I start knitting the turning section. This is the fourth section that needs knitted. Once I join all the sections I have the extra long ends to bring to the front and knit into two-stitch I-cord. This will take some time. Two concerns that I have and am preparing for are: 1 the hat will be too big. My guage has been a challenge because I'm mixing 6 different yarns of different fibers, weights and companies. I'm pleased with how it is looking and am ready to knit an inner skull cap to help it fit better. 2. the little i-cords are to look like little snakes, as the name implies. I hope to be able to get them knitted so they look right without distracting from the overall design. I left extra tails to ensure I have enough yarn for them.

I will take pictures before I put it together. You need to see this :). I haven't been able to find a picture of thecompleted hat outside of the book. I don't believe that I could be the first person to knit the Medusa hat from Handpaint Country.

BTW: the EPS class that I was to teach at the LYS was canceled due to low registration.

Artfibers Shawl 2009

I give you the second FO for 2009.
Knit using Mojo and Houdini from Artfibers in San Francisco. I just found out that the San Francisco shop is closing in a couple of weeks. They will reopen in the East Bay Area. They are running a sale.

This is a simple triangle shawl. Cast-on 3 sts, k1, kf/b, k1. Turn work. k1, kf/b k to the end. Continue in this fashion until shawl is the size you want or you run out of yarn. My stretchy bind off was found here as the 6th entry.

Completed #1 Shawl!

The knitting has been completed! I'm very pleased with the knitting. I used Malabrigo Lace weight yarn and matched it with the pattern from Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle.

This shawl is a "prayer shawl" for a good friend of mine that I affectionately refer to as #1. She just completed her 3rd round of chemotherapy. They expect that she'll have up to another 8 rounds before she's completed her first attack on the breast cancer. As I write this, the shawl is soaking before I block it. My hope is to deliver it friday.

She's asked me to bring over my clippers so I can shave her head to help with losing her hair.

Update on #1's Shawl

Weekend knitting

I'm in Michigan as I write this spending time with my three brothers. This is our annual boy's fishing trip. I really enjoy the time together. We do things together and things separately. It's all good.

I've been knitting on the shawl for #1 but I'm not able to post any pictures. I left my MacBook at home with knitSB so he could connect to the internet while I'm gone. I have his laptop and desktop with me for my (amazingly kind) brother to do some work on them. They run slowly and he's able to help do the computer work. It looks like memory will help the laptop's speed increase. I also won't be able to vlog either because I don't have that capability without my MacBook.

You won't miss me will you. *grin*

I think I've done too many decrease rows on the shawl. I'm 4 sts off. I need to decide if I'm going to tink back or increase 4 sts. The malabrigo lace is quite nice to knit.

All the Yarn

Songferret, knitSB and I attended the Great Lakes Fiber Show last weekend. We had a great time, overall. Got to see some people that I meet during 2007's Knitter's Connection. I purchased a great deal of yarn and enjoyed every last skein of it! I'll be sharing some details and pictures over the next couple of days.

I was very thrilled to see Briar Rose Fibers there! I noticed the name because of they are a sponsor of Cast-on podcast. I made sure that I told her I noticed the name because the sponsorship. Cool to meet someone that helps to bring a good thing into existence. I got some lace-weight yarn and two skeins of a sport weight yarn. One skein of Grandma's Blessing in a dark colorway that has deep blues with browns and reds. It will turn into something wonderful designed by Knitspot. There is massive yardage in this skein! 1200 yards! I'll be able knit quite a bit with this yarn.

BTW: I had a rock star moment with knitspot. I was searching for her patterns because I saw that Francis had one I didn't see. So I was searching in a book, bought 3 patterns and was walking to a different shop when....there she was Anne...aka knitspot! I squeed and pointed at her and said as I pointed "you're knitspot!" Sure enough. And she's nice. I only regret that I didn't snap a picture.

Back to the yarn. I also bought a skein of Legend that is 1500 yarns of deep rich browns and khaki to deep olive green. Nice, huh? It will be made into a Twinings Stole by knitspot.

The lace weight is Angel Face in 100% alpaca! An amazing 2500 yards of handpainted yarn. This stuff is great and very affordable. Briar Rose provides a rather nice yarn, handpainted with a brown undertone. I've been looking for some yarn that could turn into a "manly" type of lace or shawl. I think I found my source for the yarn. Briar Rose will be at KC in a couple of weeks. I plan to say "hi" while I consider some additional yarns. Stop by and see these great yarns.

he still exists

Been a busy time.
Let me give you a bullet list of details:

• After John died, knitSB and I went to England. You can see pictures.
  
• Work continued without me and therefore piled up.
  
• I finished my shawl for my sister. See?
  

• I think I might be hooked on lace knitting.
  
• My family celebrates "Thanksmas" on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's a good thing.
  
• My mom missed Thanksgiving and "Thanksmas" because she was in the hospital with intestinal pains. This on top of her continual heart problems.
  
• She was in a lot of pain. They ran lots of tests. Painful tests.
  
• She had a heart cath that showed no serious blockage. (A good thing!)
• They "cleaned her out" and then did they did the hernia repair. All the kids were there to support mom.
  
• She's much better and should be released soon.
  
• I attending a training session last week on instructional design. Amazingly great workshop that I'm already starting to apply the skills learned.
  
• I finished my MIL's house socks. I'll take some pictures later.
  
• I'm working on my (future) SIL's socks. They're going well.
  

There you have it. Updates more regularly including knitting content.